Parking lots 
The Parking Lot Area (PLA) Place marks a well-defined area constructed for off-street public or private parking, including parking structures and garages as well as at-grade lots. The parking lot feature in the app will recommend parking lots to Wazers navigating to a nearby destination. Lots within ⅔ of a mile will be recommended based on a Wazer's destination and as the feature matures, it'll recommend the 'most popular' lots that other Wazers have chosen when navigating to the same destination.
Area or point
Parking lots can ONLY be added as an area as of August 1st, 2016 and only with the singular category of Parking Lot.
Parking lot point places
As of this writing, you can no longer add Parking Lots as a point place.
Existing point places should be evaluated for inclusion and either converted to an area if applicable or deleted to solve the Map Problem (MP) report.
Scope
At this time, parking lot areas (PLA) should not be added to businesses like gas stations or businesses with small parking lots (less than 10 spaces). This guidance may change in the future as further enhancements are made to the parking lot UI. Start by adding parking lots to event venues, shopping centers, airports, public use lots, garages, multi-use parking lots, etc.
For a mall or large shopping center, break the parking lot up into multiple lots, as shown in the image to the right (use your discretion or discuss with your State Manager(s) or RC for official guidance if necessary.)
For underground garages it is hard to know the exact polygon, so try to estimate it based on your knowledge of the place. The accuracy of the entry point (Setting the stop point) is very important.
If a lot is stacked (underground + surface), map it as one place covering the footprint of the parking lot / garage. Future UI enhancements may allow for better modeling of these lots.
If a lot has different entrances serving different levels of a multi-level garage and you cannot drive from one level to another to park, but rather the levels are served independently by different entrances, then they should be mapped as multiple places.
Care must be taken that stacked areas like this do not obscure each other. You do not want two areas with identical boundaries stacked on top of each other as it will be hard to notice or select the right one for editing in WME.
As with all Area Places, a Parking Lot Area Place's geometry nodes should not be allowed to "snap" to adjacent road segments or junctions while being adjusted. Doing so can make the Area Place, as well as the adjacent segments or junctions, more difficult to modify.
On-premises parking
- It is important to create 2 separate places - one for the complex / place, and one for its designated parking lot.
- Multiple parking lots for one premise: Create separate parking lots so the best parking lot can be recommended.
- Valet parking - Valet is a service attribute of a place but is also an attribute for a parking lot.
- Multi-level lots should be created as single place with the shape of the overall parking surface outlined.
Underground parking lots
- Create a polygon surrounding the parking lot’s estimated perimeter (if you know its boundaries) and locate the entrance point in the original location.
- If parking lots overlap with a Place, do not add "Parking Lot" category to a Place. Create a separate Area polygon for the parking lot.
Creating and editing parking lot areas
Drawing
The Parking Lot Area (PLA) Place should never be attached/snapped to roads. Places snapped to roads are difficult to edit.
For planned parking features to be announced later, it's important that the shape of the polygon be drawn as close as possible to the actual shape of the parking lot, including the entry/exit location. Keeping in mind that for multi-level garages, only the footprint of the structure should be outlined.
Naming
Like all Places, Parking Lot Area Places should be named.
If a parking facility or area has a documented identity, such as "Beach Street Garage", "18th Avenue/Geary Lot", "Lot 7 - <Stadium name>", "Short-Term Parking - <Airport name>", "Cell Phone Lot - <Airport name>", etc., its Place should reflect that name to facilitate searches. Generic park-and-ride lots should be named consistently according to local custom, for example as "Park & Ride".
If a Parking Lot Area Place is contained within a larger Area Place, do not repeat the larger Area's full name. For example, if the Domestic Garage is contained within the "SFO San Francisco International Airport" Area Place boundaries, it need not be named "SFO San Francisco International Airport Domestic Garage"; "Domestic Garage - SFO" is sufficient.
In rare cases, a municipality or district provides public parking distinct from any other Area Place but without any documented or signed identity. These can be named after the municipality or district, for example, "Redwood City Public Parking". Do not use completely generic names such as "Parking" or "Public Parking" for anonymous parking facilities.
A block range or specific address can be used to name a lot if a more specific / official name does not exist. (e.g., 1201 Conti lot; 2400 block Washington St garage). Check your local guidance for any variations.
As with all Area Places, do not use mapping abbreviations for any part of a Parking Lot Place name.
Restricted parking
If there are posted signs restricting the lot to only one certain category of users (e.g. Customers, Residents, Staff, Attendees, Faculty, Students, etc.) ONLY, then put that restriction in the name. If the lot is restricted to more than one category of users, then put "(Restricted)" in the name. Also put the details of the restriction in the description.
Examples:
- "Starbucks Parking (Customers Only)"
- "Macy's Lot (Customers Only) - Big Hill Shopping Center"
- Lot D (Attendees Only) - Cheery Stadium"
- "Bravo Lot (Restricted Access) - StudyHard University" Parking allowed for Students, and Faculty ONLY
- "123 Somewhere St Lot (Residents Only)"
- "345 Other St Lot (Restricted Access)" Parking allowed for resident, guests, and staff
Description
Any lot which is fully restricted in some way (eg permit/resident/customer only), and not open to the public for general parking, must include that information as the first line of the description. If only some of the available spots are restricted, but there are some spots in the lot open to the public for general parking, then it should not be mentioned.
Examples:
- "Parking by permit only."
- "Parking only for customers of John Doe's Supermarket"
- "Parking only for residents of 123 Something St, and their guests"
- "Parking restricted to 15 minutes or less"
Operator
When there is a recognized parking operator, select it from the list, otherwise, leave this field blank. If an Operator is missing from the list that you feel should be added, please send the information to your Regional Coordinator (RC).
Locking standards
Due to this major shift in editing guidelines, it is recommended that once a Parking Lot Area (PLA) has been added, that it be locked to 3 to avoid newer editors, or those not familiar with the change, from editing or deleting the PLA.
Interface - more info
Opening hours - Hours lot is open. Set open times for the lot or select each day and the All day radio button for lots open 24 hours a day / 7 days a week.
- Cars can exit when lot is closed - Check if the lot or garage does not restrict egress after the lot is considered closed.
- Cost
- Cost determination should be made based on parking lot fees for other similar and nearby lots for the same type of venue.
- Example #1: Adding / editing parking lots near an airport; terminal parking may be the most expensive at $25/day, express parking the next level down (moderate) at $15/day and remote parking the next best option at $5/day (low).
- Example #2: Hotel parking; on-site $50/day (expensive), self-parking garage at $30/day (moderate), and off-site parking at $15/day (low)
- Each lot within approximately ⅔ mile (1 km) radius should be taken into consideration for PLA cost determination where appropriate.
- Cost determination should be made based on parking lot fees for other similar and nearby lots for the same type of venue.
- Services (select services listed below)
- Reservations - Lot accepts reservations or accepts pre-paid parking passes or permits.
- Disability parking - Spaces exist for handicap parking / wheelchair accessible spaces.
- Car wash - A car wash is on premises within the parking lot (some airports and other venues have amenities such as this for those parking within the lot).
- Security - On-site security for the specific lot exists
- Number of Spots
- List the most accurate number of spots within the specified parking lot area polygon.
- Contact info
- A link to the specific parking lot or vendor's site (if applicable) is permissible here.
- Phone
- The phone number for the main venue to which the parking lot belongs or to the parking lot vendor is permissible here.
Parking lot roads
Don't forget to map any necessary parking lot roads, to allow for proper navigation into and out of the parking lot. The parking lot place does not substitute roads needed for actual navigation.
What does not qualify as a PLA?
On-street parking should not be added at this time.
Rental-car return lots
With the availability of the "Car Rental" Place, rental car facilities and returns, including at airports, should be marked with that Place category. If the return location is a normal parking lot, then mark it with the parking lot category and the building as a separate place with the Car Rental category.